Open House 2019: Unlocking the mysteries of ancient Egypt
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Join one of Liverpool’s leading Egyptologists for a fascinating insight into how this ancient civilisation built one of the most famous Seven Wonders of the World at a free public lecture next week.
Ancient Egypt was an incredible place that has captured imaginations for thousands of years. The abundance of evidence left behind by ancient Egyptians has provided us with an insight into their world, yet not everything about ancient Egypt is understood and researchers are still working hard at unravelling its many intricate mysteries.
Dr Roland Enmarch is a senior lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Liverpool and since 2012 has been involved in a project to excavate the 4,500 year-old Hatnub Quarry. What began as an expedition to record the inscriptions of ancient Egyptian quarry workers led to the remarkable discovery of a well-preserved ancient haulage ramp that could help solve the mystery of how the Great Pyramids were built.
Dr Enmarch explains: “The quarry preserves large numbers of inscriptions left by ancient quarrying expeditions from 4500-4000 years ago including tableaux of royal names and insignia, expedition details and allusions to unsettled political conditions in Egypt. Many of the Hatnub texts are difficult to read. However, digital technology mean that it is now possible to not only to identify further unpublished sections of some of the long-known texts, but also to find and read many previously unknown or illegible texts.
“In our most recent season, we discovered an extremely well preserved ramp leading up out of the quarry, with traces of post holes that will enable us to reconstruct in more detail the ancient technologies of stone haulage and extraction.
“Since this ramp dates to the reign of Khufu, our research offers the exciting possibility for offering further insights into the logistics and technologies used in constructing that astonishing building.”
In this talk, which takes place on Thursday, 16 May as part of the University’s Open House festival, Dr Enmarch will reveal how the Hatnub inscriptions and the surprise ramp discovery are helping researchers unlock some of the mysteries of ancient Egypt.
Dr Roland Enmarch (white jacket) filming with a documentary crew at Hatnub
Event details:
The Hatnub inscriptions and the pharaoh’s pyramid
6-7pm, Thursday 16 May 2019
Victoria Gallery & Museum
Open House runs from 13-22 May 2019. For the full programme, including timings and booking details, please visit: www.liverpool.ac.uk/openhouse
[callout title=Read more]Ancient quarry ramp system may have helped workers build Egypt’s Great Pyramids[/callout]